Andrew Leigh

LABOR LEADING CONSUMER AND COMPETITION DEBATE

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 27 JUNE 2018

Dr LEIGH (Fenner):  I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes the Government's failure to commit to a full suite of measures to strengthen the consumer watchdog, including:

(1) increasing the maximum penalties for anti-competitive conduct;

(2) cracking down on payday lenders;

(3) providing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission with an independent market studies function;

(4) increasing the litigation budget of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission;

(5) requiring car manufacturers to share technical information with independent mechanics on commercially fair and reasonable terms, with safeguards that enable environmental, safety and security-related technical information to be shared with the independent sector; and

(6) prioritising cases that disproportionately affect disadvantaged Australians".

It is always a good day when the coalition belatedly adopts Labor's policies. On 15 June 2016, Labor called on the government to raise the penalties for ripping off consumers. We did so following a succession of scandals in which firms had seen penalties for anticonsumer conduct as simply the cost of doing business. We had that period from 2011 to 2015 when Nurofen, one of the big shots in the pain business, began selling a series of painkillers said to target pain in the body—Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache—but the fact was they all had the same active ingredient, 342 milligrams of ibuprofen lysine. The fact was that Nurofen were misleading consumers, and the penalties dealt out to them were a mere slap on the wrist.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC NEWS RADIO

THURSDAY, 28 JUNE 2018
 
SUBJECTS: Malcolm Turnbull’s $80 billion tax cut for big business; By-elections.
 
FIONA ELLIS-JONES: Labor’s Andrew Leigh is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and joins us now this morning. Andrew Leigh, thanks for your time today.
 
ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Pleasure, Fiona. Great to be with you.
 
ELLIS-JONES: Please can you clarify this – will Labor limit tax cuts to firms with turnovers no higher than $2 million?
 
LEIGH: Fiona, we’ve been absolutely clear that we’re putting investment in hospitals and schools ahead of big business tax cuts. You’d have to have been living under a rock if you’d missed that message from Labor. We’ve said clearly that for businesses under $2 million turnover – that’s nine out of 10 Australian businesses – they’ll get the same tax cut under Labor. And we’re continuing to consider our position for businesses between $2 and $10 million of turnover.

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DOORSTOP

PARLIAMENT HOUSE

THURSDAY, 28 JUNE 2018

SUBJECTS: Malcolm Turnbull’s lack of action on tax havens, the Government’s war on charities, company tax.
 
ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer.
 
We know that Malcolm Turnbull has been soft on the big end of town, but again yesterday in Question Time he claimed that his multinational anti-avoidance laws had raised significant revenue for the government. Last time Malcolm Turnbull made a claim like this, we had to write to the Tax Commissioner to find out the truth. So yesterday, I did that again. I’ve written formally to the Tax Commissioner to find out precisely how much revenue the Liberals’ multinational tax laws have raised.
 
We know that the Liberals have a history of telling porkies on multinational tax. They claimed credit for the Chevron judgement, which added $300 million to the budget, despite the fact that they had voted against those very laws in the parliament. And we’ve seen the Liberals again and again oppose Labor’s sensible measures to close multinational tax loopholes.

LABOR STANDS FOR TAX TRANSPARENCY

FEDERATION CHAMBER, 26 JUNE 2018

Dr ANDREW LEIGH: This is a motion based on a lie. Labor never voted against the multinational anti-avoidance law. Let me say that again for the benefit of the member for Goldstein, who moved the motion. This is a motion based on a lie, a falsehood. The member is misleading the House. Labor never voted against the multinational anti-avoidance law. I know this—

TIM WILSON: Did you support it?

LEIGH: Yes, Labor did support it, remember? I will take that interjection from the member for Goldstein. I refer the member to the Senate Hansard, 9 November 2015. Senator Dastyari said:

'Labor's position is that we support this bill.'

WILSON: What about the House?

LEIGH: The member for Goldstein asks about the House. I will come to the House, Member for Goldstein. There's not a moment in which Labor did not support the bill.

Wilson interjecting—

LEIGH: The problem with the member for Goldstein is he thinks that if a lie is repeated often enough it becomes the truth. He thinks, because he's sat in the House—

Government members interjecting—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members will be quite, please.

LEIGH: and he's heard the talking point from the Treasurer and the minister for revenue, that somehow it's okay to continue to mislead the House.

YOUR CAR, YOUR CHOICE

Federation Chamber, 25 June 2018

I move:

That this House:

(1) declares that:

(a) given new cars have multiple onboard computers, real time access to digital files and codes—which vary from car to car—are needed to complete many aspects of a repair or service;

(b) car manufacturers generally own and control this technical information and in many cases are the only sources of re-initialisation codes and software upgrades;

(c) independent car repairers—who comprise the vast majority of Australian mechanics—are at a competitive disadvantage, since most car manufacturers do not supply the same information to independent mechanics that they provide to authorised dealers;

(d) the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s report New car retailing industry market study (14 December 2017) concluded that the industry’s voluntary code has failed to address the problem; and

(e) failure to address this problem is hurting small businesses, increasing prices for consumers, and providing less choice, with the impact being most acute in regional areas; and

(2) calls on the Government to adopt Labor’s policy of mandatory information sharing, which would:

(a) require car manufacturers to share technical information with independent mechanics on commercially fair and reasonable terms;

(b) create safeguards that enable environmental, safety and security related technical information to be shared with the independent sector; and

(c) provide a level playing field, benefiting consumers and independent mechanics alike.

SUPPORTING SAFE ACCESS ZONES

Federation Chamber, 25 June 2018

No woman makes the decision to terminate a baby lightly. It is a decision best made in consultation with a medical practitioner and one which involves significant stress.

This is why safe access zones have been established in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. They reflect the history of women being harassed by anti-abortion protesters as they've sought to enter an abortion clinic.

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TELEVISION INTERVIEW

SKY NEWS

MONDAY, 25 JUNE 2018

SUBJECTS: Malcolm Turnbull’s big business handout; Labor’s plan for a bigger, better and fairer tax cut.

TOM CONNELL: Joining me live right now is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Andrew Leigh. Thanks for your time today.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Pleasure, Tom.

CONNELL: Interesting turn it took today with this Labor ad attacking Malcolm Turnbull, saying he could benefit by millions. Do you really think that’s his motivation?

LEIGH: I think the Prime Minister has a bit of a glass jaw if he’s getting concerned over this sort of thing. This is a government which had two former Labor Prime Ministers dragged before Royal Commissions. Labor Leader Bill Shorten was called before a Royal Commission for two days. The government was attacking Tanya Plibersek and her husband in parliament last week. They’ve referred to Bill Shorten as being a ‘sycophant’, a ‘hypocrite’, accused him of taking ‘backhanders’. Now they’re unwilling to deal with the basic facts.

LABOR PROTECTS CHARITIES

The bipartisan Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has today handed down its report on the Foreign Interference Transparency Scheme Bill 2017, recommending that charities be excluded.
 
These recommendations reflect Labor’s strong engagement with and commitment to charities.

TAX TRANSPARENCY, COURTESY OF LABOR

Hundreds of Australia’s biggest private companies are one step closer to being forced out of the shadows and into the sunlight, thanks to a Labor bill passed today.
 
The Private Senator’s Bill would ensure that big businesses have their high-level tax information published, which will allow proper scrutiny and help restore the trust in the integrity of the tax system that was brought about when the Gillard Government passed tax transparency reforms in June 2013.
 
In December 2015, the Greens and the Liberals raised the transparency threshold for private companies from $100 million to $200 million. This dodgy deal took two-thirds of the private companies out of the spotlight and back into the darkness.

AUSTRALIA RECONNECTED

KEYNOTE ADDRESS TO THE NATIONAL VOLUNTEERING CONFERENCE

SYDNEY

22 JUNE 2018

Thank you Adrienne for that generous introduction. I honour the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, on whose lands we meet today, and pay my respects to their elders past and present. I acknowledge my parliamentary colleagues Dan Tehan and Louise Pratt, and thank Adrienne Picone, Vicki Darling, and the Volunteering and Contact ACT team for their organisational work. In taking the lead to organise this Sydney event, my fellow Canberrans have proven that our national capital is also Australia’s social capital. I particularly thank each and every attendee - generous volunteers coming together to discuss about how we can strengthen Australia’s civic fabric.